Ravenpaw's Farewell/Chapter 5
Chapter description :Back at the farm, Ravenpaw asks his friend Barley, if he's sure he's not coming with them to find SkyClan. Riley and Bella are still sleeping and the air outside is warming up to dawn. The black-and-white tom notes they've been through this already. The small black cat retorts he thought Barley trusted him. He adds he'll come back, after Bella and Riley join SkyClan. Barley accuses him of wanting to be as good as a Clan cat. He flinches and asks the farm cat what he meant by that. Barley tells him he believes he's doing it for himself, and not his niece and nephew. Ravenpaw gasps that he's wrong to which the stout tom replies he hadn't stop going on about what it was like to live in ThunderClan. The loner's shoulders sag as he tells his black-and-white friend he's being ridiculous. Barley growls he's the one who's leaving, and Ravenpaw sarcastically says he's making it easier for both of them. :The young cats awake, and Bella interrupts their argument to ask if they are leaving. They bounce down the haystack and ask Ravenpaw if they should hunt first. The black-and-white tom gruffly meows there wasn't any need since he had caught prey last night. Ravenpaw thanks him, however the barn cat replies back he didn't do it for him. Barley then says he's going for a walk and hopes he finds what he's looking for. Bella asks her uncle if he was going to see them off, and he tells them not to do anything stupid and to make their mother proud. He leaves with a final glare at Ravenpaw. :Ravenpaw tells the kits to eat as much as they can before they set off. He is unable to believe his friend didn't stop to say goodbye. He reminds the kits they have a long way to go when they're be able to hunt again later. Settling down to eat, he wishes he had some of Spottedleaf's traveling herbs. After finishing, they push the prey back under the haystack. Ravenpaw notes again the the young cats look similar to his old friends, Firestar and Graystripe. With Riley and Bella's eyes lit up and fur groomed neatly, Ravenpaw leads them out of the barn. :Ravenpaw guides the kits through fields until they reach the river at the edge of the moor. Upon seeing the thick water, Riley and Bella open their eyes wide. Bella is anxious about crossing, until the black tom says they didn't need to. As they walk beside the river, the two kits investigate everything they see on the path. When Riley asks Ravenpaw how his pounce was, he tells him to keep his weight on his hind legs. He also explains what frogs are to Bella after she finds one. Later, sunhigh arrives and the loner settles down to wash himself in a hedgerow. Bella catches a shrew and presents it proudly to him. Riley also tries to catch a sparrow, but it escapes. Ravenpaw tells him to not worry since the shrew is enough to fill their bellies between them. They are alerted to danger when barking interrupts the peace and a big dog charges toward the cats. :The black tom boosts the young cats up and they watch as the dog finishes their shrew. A Twoleg calls to the dog and it trots away with its ears drooping. Riley and Ravenpaw walk out of the hedgerow, however Bella doesn't feel safe yet. It takes several moments for him to coax her down and continue their journey. Toward evening, they find an unused stone den to shelter in. Leaving the young cats inside, Ravenpaw finds a next of eggs and carries them one by one to the travelers. He also claws moss off a log to make a nest for all three of them. Looking up at the moon, Ravenpaw wonders about Barley before being dragged into sleep. :The small group of cats travel on until they reach a copse of trees. Riley heads off into the trees as Bella lies down. She complains she's too tired to hunt and Ravenpaw holds onto his annoyance. He catches a mouse and bring it back to her, however she had left the grass to see a Twoleg. It gives her some food as the orange tabby arches her back. Ravenpaw is furious and screeches at her to run away from it. She hisses that it was giving her something to eat since she was hungry. He grabs her by the scruff of her neck and drags her into the copse. The commotion frightens the Twoleg and it stumbles away. Confronting the kits about Twolegs, he tells them they are wild cats now who don't rely on Twolegs for anything. The young cats are upset by this until Ravenpaw tells them they can turn back. They head along the riverbank and he wonders if both Bella and Riley would be good warriors. Characters Major *Barley *Riley *Bella }} Mentioned *Sandstorm *Spottedleaf *Graystripe *Violet (Unnamed) }} Notes and references Category:Ravenpaw's Farewell Category:Novellas Category:Chapter subpages